All articles by Railway Gazette International – Page 1378
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Privatised Carajás Railway targets productivity
In May 1997 the world's biggest iron ore exporter was sold by the Brazilian government. CVRD operates two heavy haul railways which were already efficient, and are now striving to reduce unit costs even further
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Intermodal cane lines re-equip
NARROW GAUGE sugar cane railways in Cuba, Indonesia and elsewhere almost always give the impression of being on their last legs. Images abound of antique steam locomotives struggling against the onslaught of the ubiquitous lorry as the run-down networks eke out the last years of a precarious existence. Not so ...
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Buyers will be spoilt for choice
INTRO: Privatisation of Australia’s railways looks set to bound forward this year. Mark Carter of Rail 2000 assesses the pictureANY ASSESSMENT of current railway developments in Australia must conclude that 1998 is shaping up to be the ’year of the privatised railway’. Aspiring railway barons are likely to be spoilt ...
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One-Stop-Shops in business
The first Trans-European Rail Freight Freeway train, the Bel-Italia, left Muizen yard in Belgium at 01.51 on January 12 and was due in Lyon at 13.14, having covered 800 km at an average of just over 70 km/h including stops at Arlon, Luxembourg and Thionville for crew or locomotive changes. ...
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QR builds on record traffic
INTRO: Last year Queensland Rail carried well over 100 million tonnes of freight on its 1067mm gauge network and is still investing heavily to meet surging demand. QR’s Chief Executive Vince O’Rourke discussed his plans with Murray Hughes in AustraliaLOOKING back on a year when Queensland Rail carried record ...
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Products In Brief
Security printer Henry Booth & Company has been awarded a two-year contract to supply ticketing stock on a just-in-time basis to all 25 of Britain’s Train Operating Companies . Over 240million tickets will be supplied each year under a contract negotiated by First Procurement Associates Ltd which brings the number ...
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Deltaport helps CN and CP win West Coast boxes
INTRO: William D Middleton explains why the Port of Vancou-ver’s new terminal could help Canada’s railways deliver more containers from the Pacific Rim into ChicagoON THE WEST COAST of North America, rail and truck operators compete aggressively for market share in the Pacific Rim container trade. Financial instability in the ...
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Berlin cross-city links
GERMAN Railway is to launch a network of cross-city regional express routes in May to integrate services radiating from Berlin. Following completion of reconstruction work on the city’s Stadtbahn core (RG 1.98 p22), regional services feeding the outer ends of the S-Bahn network will be extended into the city centre ...
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RaiLink overhauls BC Rail
CANADIAN NATIONAL clinched two major sales of loss-making railway in the week before Christmas, both involving RaiLink Ltd. This brings the total length of route which Canada’s principal short line operator manages directly or through its 25% shareholding in Quebec Railway Corp to more than 2800 km, comfortably exceeding BC ...
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Fighter barter
REPORTS surfaced last month that Union Carriage of Nigel in South Africa is among companies shortlisted to supply a fleet of 60 locos for Sweden’s 479 km iron ore route from Luleå to the Norwegian port of Narvik, operated by Malmtrafik i Kiruna AB. The deal could also include around ...
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BART automates
SAN FRANCISCO’s Bay Area Rapid Transit District has awarded a Letter of Intent to Harmon Industries Inc for installation of Advanced Automatic Train Control equipment over the next three years, at a cost of approximately $40m. The work will be done in conjunction with construction of BART’s airport extension, which ...
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Australia
INTRO: New lines planned, proposed orunder construction in Australian New South WalesSydney - Canberra Very High Speed Train: bids sought from private sector with contract due to be announced by June 15.Jerrys Plain - Mt Thorley: NSW Rail Access Corp signed agreement in September 1997 for Jerrys Plain Terminal Pty ...
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Welsby asks crunch questions
’AN OBJECTIVE assessment of the performance of the privatised railway today shows that, in general, it is hardly better than it was in the last years of public ownership. That is a great disappointment.’ Giving the Sir Robert Reid lecture to the Chartered Institute of Transport in London on January ...
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Upgrading QR’s North Coast artery
INTRO: Faster journey times, higher axleloads and lower maintenance costs will all follow from a A$590m upgrading programme between Brisbane and CairnsAROUND 118 km of new alignment have been laid on QR’s 1681 km North Coast line from Brisbane to Cairns. A series of deviations has been built to ease ...
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Aqaba concession
THE GOVERNMENT of Jordan has invited prequalification bids by January 25 for a concessionaire to run the 292 km Aqaba Railway. This follows the appointment of CPCS Transcom of Canada to assist with the process. Secretary-General for Transport Issa Ayyoub said in December that a 20 to 25 year concession ...
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Next shinkansen approved
ON JANUARY 9 the Japanese government announced a go-ahead for construction of three further sections of shinkansen high-speed line. The decision was taken by an executive committee of the ruling LDP and their coalition partners, which had commissioned a report last year into future shinkansen priorities (RG 2.97 p69).The government ...
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Ma On Shan link approved
THE HONG KONG regional government has given the go-ahead for construction of a 10·3 km elevated rail line to serve the Ma On Shan development area in the east of the Kowloon peninsula. Costed at HK$6·7bn, the ’medium capacity’ link will interchange with Kowloon - Canton Railway Corp’s East Rail ...
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Gel applicator
LAYING a gel to combat wheel-slip or slide on slippery rail surfaces is now possible using a portable applicator weighing just 5 kg. Available from Chipman Rail, the Handite applicator is pushed manually along the rail to distribute a Sandite gel evenly on the rail surface.The gel is supplied in ...